A mature good choice

A mature good choice

I initially used to think that it doesn't matter which car you drive, at the end of the day its just 2 rows of seat sitting on 4 wheels and axle, only thing is it should have safety equipment. How much can you really go wrong??? Thats when i started with having Wagon R Vxi ABS. It was a nice, spacious car, occasionally used at home as i was living out of country and then things changed when i switched back to India, i liked the car but drove some other cars and started realising what driving means. I exchanged by Wagon R and got a pre-worshipped VW Vento, amazing car to drive, expensive to maintain servicing costed 12000 double of Wagon R. But for the love of driving i was ready for the sacrifice. But my love with it lasted pretty short as we met with an accident( got hit by a truck from one side and circled and ran over the divider and got hit by a tree on right side), none of us were hurt in this major accident but our lovely car was no more as it took all the damage on itself.Now the hassle started of getting the insurance check done, getting the repair quotes of 5+ lakhs which was more than the cost and i had to let the car go which saved us that day...Emotional decision!!! Now it was time to look for another car - things required were SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY, reliability, smoothness,petrol engine (less running), Boot space, Cabin space, Budget max- 8lakhs. Cars in budget - New Dzire, Tigor, Aspire, Amaze, Etios, Baleno, Ameo Cars Shortlisted - New Dzire- Launched with new looks, improved space and mileage, Vxi variant fitted the bill, took a few test drives, waiting of 2 months already started but had contacted a few people to check if readily available somewhere then will buy it. Model fitting budget - Tigor - Wasn't inclined to go for TATA car but looks in press release were amazing so wanted to check. Saw this car in person and liked it. Went for a test ride and felt good as all the features and safety aspects were covered in less budget - XZ model Aspire - Short test ride showed the engine was refined but the dasboard was very cluttered due to music system. This was only car that can be taken with 6 airbags. But everyone except one friend suggest not to go for Ford as it is way too expensive in terms of parts so didn't even took full test ride. I guess it might be misconception as lot of reviews suggest ford as a good and easy on pocket. Ameo - 3 pot engine,negligible rear leg space, so avoided it.My VW vento love made me try Vento again but it was too expensive to be considered 10.3 lakhs after discounts for last year model. So ruled it out. Amaze- Too ugly to even test drive (only my opinion).Almost made my mind for TIGOR or DZIRE both became readily available through contacts but then the Toyota guy called to just take 1 test drive and not to buy the car. Car look 100 times better than earlier version. As soon as my family went in the car for test drive they were instantly at home comparing the space to Vento, everyone liked the decor and ride quality was much better than rest of tested cars. So, finalised the same day and car was booked next day and delivery day finalised in next 3 days. Model decided - GX petrol, plus negotiated Pioneer music system(Touchscreen), rear camera, Rear sensors, Mud flap, Mats so making it similar to TOP model(except alloys and electronic OVRMs) but saving close to 1 lakh. Now have been driving since last 1 month with both city and highway runs, car is giving 13.5kmpl at present in run in period. So, what is ETIOS - It's a mature car for a steady family person who likes to travel as well without worrying for the way car is driven(Toyota reliability) and doesn't want to spend over the top on buying or maintaining the car. So if you are a youngster want the fun and look,then consider other options -Liva can be considered in new dual tone form. Only con - Boot lid requires lot of pressure to close(maybe only in my car) which might be rectified in first service. Also, gear shift needs to be smoother.